Shackles
by shiroakashi99
Summary: [GOMxKuroko] Kuroko Tetsuya made a contract with the head of the Akashi family to protect the heir of their lineage; Akashi Seijurou. It was a simple job, but he couldn't say the same about Akashi himself.
1. Contract

**Shackles**

**[GOMxKuroko] **"To eliminate and eradicate the existence of those who dare to defy and harm the Akashi, I am willing to pay any number of amounts you ask for!"

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

-**One**-

"I heard that you have made a contract killing with the Akashi." His father stated – not asked -, in that monotonous voice of his as his hazel orbs narrowed subtly in a show of the slightest uncertainty and skepticism. His arms were linked behind his back, head angled towards the right with his hazel orbs silently clashing against his son's own frosty blue.

"I did." His son answered truthfully with a slow nod.

"And why did you deem it worthy to do so, Tetsuya?" The man asked with a tone of sincere curiosity.

"The deal was agreeable and the amount of money being paid has proven to be satisfying to our standards. I have assumed that there was no other better client other than an eager client willing to pay any amount of money for a very simple task with simple orders." The explanation was blunt and straight to the point- something as to which the older of the two was proud and pleased to notice.

"I see." The older man hummed in contemplative thought. "However, you do know that now that you have formed a contract with the Akashi, your duty wouldn't be finished until your client tells you that your job is over, don't you?"

"I am aware, father."

"If that's the case, prepare for your departure tomorrow."

Pausing for a very brief moment to look at his son, the man nodded in acknowledgement.

"I have great expectations of you, Tetsuya."

Frosty blue eyes gleamed with animalistic ferocity as he bowed his head and left the room.

"I will try my best to not disappoint you, father."


	2. Guess who?

- **Two**

Kuroko's family was a family of exceptional assassins.

As of currently, the current generation of the Kuroko composes of his parents, him and his brother; his grandmother having retired not too long ago. They are all geniuses and prodigies of their own rights, skills remaining unmatched to by the warriors and fighters of this generation. It was to be expected, given that the Kuroko's standard of living involves torturous mental, physical and emotional training.

To bring out the killer's true potential, to clear his mind of anything unnecessary that would prove to hinder the job, and to subdue the emotions of the killer so as to prevent emotional attachments to his target or to a potential enemy; that is how all those who were born into this world bearing the name of the Kuroko lived their life.

Perhaps, Kuroko would humorlessly muse, these 'principles' that they have set for the bearers of the name Kuroko had made them all forget how to love their own mother.

That was how they grew up after all, so it was inevitable, right? They fought with their instincts while their minds solely revolved around strategies and the formulation of plans; nothing more and nothing less. Safety wasn't even considered any longer and anything such as caution is blatantly ignored like it never even existed in the first place in this world.

_What a tragic story, wouldn't you agree?_

-o-o-o-

"Maji Burger…" He looked at the piece of paper within his grasp before letting his eyes wander back to the fast-food restaurant's entrance, grip tightening considerably as he watched couples, high school students and families walk in one after the other within the aforementioned restaurant.

As much as possible, he hadn't wanted to stay within crowded areas or stay close to anyone in particular, but seeing as to how his client required for him and the 'agent' he had sent to pick him up to meet in Maji Burger (no doubt to assess him first before letting him within the territory of the Akashi), he was given no choice but to walk in within the crowded and lively fast-food restaurant.

And as he had expected, not a single customer or staff from the restaurant have taken note of his presence, much less his own arrival, and that was when the blue-haired teen decided to take advantage of their blindness to search for someone who will meet the 'Akashi's standards of an agent'. He searched through the crowd of customers with trained eyes while pretty much evaluating the people who didn't seem to have any plan leaving the place soon with a calculative stare while attempting to deduce just what type of person he might soon be facing.

First of, since he was dealing with the Akashi, it was obvious that there was no way the head of the Akashi himself will come out to meet him. He was a busy man as far as he could tell and he knew that there was a sense of pride to never be lumped together with a bunch of commoners which then leads him to believe that he will be meeting the unknown 'agent' alone.

Secondly, there was a low probability of the man's heir himself coming out to meet him. From Kuroko's meeting with the head of the Akashi, he could see that the man had no plans of telling his son or the heir of the Akashi that someone will soon be working to protect him from the shadows. Of course, this doesn't just apply to the heir himself; it practically applies to all of the Akashi family- meaning that the agent is not a part of the Akashi but close enough to them to be trusted with a responsibility with something that even the heir doesn't know.

Thirdly, since he was close to the Akashi, he must be of high values, standards and morals. Someone with high intelligence, most likely, Kuroko thought. Sending someone who relied on their physical abilities wouldn't make sense since that would kill the reason as to why an agent will be meeting Kuroko- the reason being to 'assess' him.

However, if that's the case, that would mean that the 'agent' that he was meeting with would –probably- look out of place from the restaurant. Someone who has high values, standards and morals pretty much describes the head of the Akashi- a prideful person not willing to lower himself to the likes of these people currently 'wasting' their time in this 'unhealthy' restaurant.

A sharp gleam flashed within Kuroko's frosty blue orbs.

**He found him.**

Sitting beside a window with a slightly impatient and perturbed expression on his face was a bespectacled teenager around his age who didn't seem to fit well with the crowd given with the way he was refusing to look at the waitress and the crowd of female high school students fawning over him with the intention to probably get his name or befriend him. His posture was near to perfect and every movement was swift. Even his words were neatly chosen.

Crumpling the paper in his hand, Kuroko silently walked over to the bespectacled teen.

'_He must be Midorima Shintaro.'_


	3. Test

**Note:** To avoid confusion, when I say 'the Kuroko', I am referring to the Kuroko family as a whole- the same goes with 'the Akashi'. But when I say 'Akashi' or 'Kuroko' alone without 'the', I am referring to 'Akashi' and 'Kuroko' respectively. Ah, and yes, they are pretty much out of character… *cringe*

**Trivia from wiki:** Kuroko turns talkative when the situation worsens.

- **Three**

"Kuroko Tetsuya, I presume?"

Unreadable icy blue stared right into sharp emerald green with a steely gleam.

"Yes. And you are Midorima-kun?"

The subtle twitch in the other's body told Kuroko that this person was by no means the type to get familiar with anyone- much less someone like _Kuroko_ of all people. However, seeing as to how he had no other type of reaction except for sighing inaudibly in quiet resignation, he knew that Midorima was aware that he was currently in no position to get agitated or frustrated.

"Excuse me for asking this suddenly, Kuroko," Emerald green eyes darted to the boisterous and lively people which mostly consisted of high school students chattering loudly with a hint of dislike in his eyes. "But could we move to a quieter area where we won't be disturbed?"

Kuroko's fingers twitched and flexed- an action that went unnoticed by the other.

"I agree."

It wasn't long before the two found themselves walking towards a deserted street basketball court a few minutes away from Maji Burger, posture tense, almost as if they were expecting the other to attack any minute now, be it verbally or physically to begin the unspoken 'test'. Eyes remained fixated ahead but with the large distance between them, you could see how the other was aware that getting any nearer would kill him.

"Still, I'm pretty impressed." As casually as he could, Midorima began with a small smirk while nudging his glasses above the bridge of his nose. "How did you know that the agent that was sent was me?"

Kuroko gave a flat look from the corner of his eye. "…Through deduction."

The green-haired teen stopped in his tracks while his hand which has just finished its task readjusting the position of his glasses halted in midair, eyebrow rising in what could have been fascination.

"Deduction?" He repeated in surprise.

"I wouldn't mean to offend my client but I can say that in some ways, you two are alike." The blue-haired teen clarified before stopping too and facing the other.

"Offending your client by saying that we are alike?" Midorima's eyes narrowed sharply, obviously having misunderstood what the other was trying to say. "Explain yourself."

"You misunderstood me, Midorima-kun." The monotonous reply was almost unnerving, Midorima thought, as he watched the other stare at the basketball hoop above him. "To properly make it clear, what I was trying to say is that my client-"

Midorima, by now, has noticed how the other was refraining from speaking about the head of the Akashi's name in their conversation.

_'__Hm, impressive.'_

"-is a very prideful person who does everything accurately, systematically and methodically with proper and stable information to make every decision that he makes reasonable. From there, I knew that he wouldn't send someone with strong physical abilities, but someone with remarkable intellectual abilities to judge my character if I really am worthy to work under him and be responsible for protecting someone important."

_'__Yet again, he didn't fail to mask the important details.'_

"So in other words, I was thinking that he will be sending someone who thinks like him."

Midorima kept his silence for a few moments after hearing the other's explanation before asking again.

"Though that does explain many things, you have still failed to explain why exactly it would be 'offending' to say that _your client_ and I are alike."

There was a hint of a haughty smile in the other's eyes and a second just after he had seen and recognized what the expression meant; Midorima found a dagger pressed lightly against his neck.

"That's because both of you are too _prideful_ to admit to be worse or even alike to each other; be it secretly or not."

Midorima's eyes widened as the color drained from his face, knowing that within just a few words and just a few minutes of having been acquainted with the other, Kuroko has completely and successfully seen through him.

_'__This guy…_ _this guy is terrifying, yet befitting… for _that_ position...'_

Kuroko slowly and smoothly withdrew from his position with the dagger now away from the world's seeing eyes, an expression of nonchalance and impassiveness masking the burning intensity yet at the same time 'dead' look that had, in a blink of an eye, appeared in his eyes.

The contradiction was frightening, but the realization of having a weapon pointed at your neck a millisecond later was even more fearsome to the core.

"And so if you could, Midorima-kun, please tell your friends to come out. It's rude to eavesdrop in someone else's conversation, you know."

Midorima's eye twitched.

_'__Terrifyingly impressive, yet annoyingly perceptive.'_

And with those words as his last thought, Midorima begrudgingly admitted that Kuroko has passed the test.


	4. Sent to: ?

- Four

"What made you think that there's someone here with me?" Midorima asked offhandedly.

Of course, the bespectacled teenager knew that the other has already found out and that nothing else will change his mind, but he needed an explanation to – at the very least – clear his suspicions.

"The bloodlust is hard to miss." Kuroko bluntly stated.

_This boy has a severe problem for being mysterious, _Midorima couldn't help but think with a frustrated sigh. _He finds out about things that shouldn't be found out and points out how he finds it out like it's very obvious._

Raking his fingers agitatedly through his hair, the green-haired teen raised his right hand and motioned through the air with two fingers before dropping it and looking at the people who now stood, surrounding Kuroko in a rather secure circle.

There were three people who made a stealthy and sudden appearance; one was a purple-haired giant who had a lazy look in his eyes, yet the way he moved and the way he aggressively stared at Kuroko showed that the drowsiness and laziness was just a façade to hide the real monster beneath. The next one was a tanned teenager who had blue hair with a darker hue compared to Kuroko. He had this fierceness in both movements and facial expression that proved just how much intimidating he could be by just standing and hovering in front of you with a large grin. The last one was a blond-haired teen who looked pretty much charismatic yet formidable, especially with how graceful and swift he moved. Though a playful smirk was attached to his face, his eyes were filled with solemnity that could be a result of an incredible mental fortitude.

Combine that with Midorima, whose eyes practically shone with sharpness and precise calculations, standing even taller than the other two yet second to the purple-haired giant and Kuroko was pretty much surprised for being needed when there were monsters like them around.

"Aomine, Murasakibara, Kise… you let your guard down, didn't you?" Midorima questioned. "He found out."

"Wha- seriously!?" The tanned teen exclaimed with a disbelieving expression on his face as he turned to look at Kuroko.

Or rather, where Kuroko used to be.

"EH!? WHERE DID HE GO!?" Kise yelled in surprise as his head snapped at both right and left along with Murasakibara who lazily scanned the area with a displeased frown on his face. They _knew_ he was just there in the center of the make-shift circle that they have made and even still, escaping or slipping out would prove to be impossible since they were _close_ to him and _alert_.

And so, how on _earth_ did he manage to _slip out!?_

"Um, I'm right here."

All eyes immediately snapped towards the source of the voice as they either jerked or flinched subtly in surprise at the remarkably low presence of the blue-haired teen that was calmly standing a few feet away from the group of four with an unreadable expression on his face.

Aomine growled, Kise paled, Murasakibara glared and Midorima palmed his face.

Stuck within their mental and inner turmoil, they have failed to notice exactly what Kuroko had been doing in the few seconds he had gone missing.

**Sent to: ?**

I would like to have information on the following people immediately, if possible:

Midorima Shintaro

Kise

Aomine

Murasakibara

Payment will be delivered through the usual method.

-End Text-

**Sent to: ?**

Insufficiency with the given information will be tolerated this once, Tetsuya.

I also expect that this dependency of yours shall soon be fixed.

The rest of the information will delivered through the usual method.

Payment is due to be received in a minute.

**Information:**

**Aomine Daiki's I.D**

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Height: 192 cm

Weight: 85 kg

Birthday: August 31

Blood type: B

Duty: responsible for the arsenal and weaponry of the Akashi family and also a trained and professional fighter.

**Kise Ryouta's I.D**

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Height: 189 cm

Weight: 77 kg

Birthday: June 18

Blood type: A

Duty: responsible for the aircrafts owned by the Akashi family and navigator of all aircrafts and strategist.

**Murasakibara Atsushi's I.D**

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Height: 208 cm

Weight: 99 kg

Birthday: October 9

Blood type: O

Duty: top-notch chef working under the Akashi family who has immense physical power and an exceptional martial artist.

**Midorima Shintaro's I.D**

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Height: 195 cm

Weight: 79 kg

Birthday: July 7

Blood type: B

Duty: the negotiator of the entire Akashi family and a professional surgeon. He is also the personal doctor of the Akashi Family.

-End Text-


	5. Plans and oh- here we are!

[Edited]

- Five

The atmosphere was undeniably suffocating for all the five occupants of the luxurious car who currently had various expressions on their faces, most of them bearing an expression of dislike and curiosity towards a certain assassin who was currently wearing an indifferent and impeccable facade which none of them can pretty much read into.

On the other hand, contrary to their belief and though it may not seem that much, Kuroko was actually quite submerged within his thoughts.

He was aware that the stunt he had pulled just now wasn't just a risky one, but a stupid one. Instead of proving his abilities or worth, he simply agitated and frustrated these people.

_'However, that isn't all there is to it.'_ He added thoughtfully.

True to his words, he knew that pulling that stunt – where he vanishes into thin air only to be seen standing a few feet away as if nothing had just happened – would raise suspicions and perhaps doubts about his ability. Such as: 'how can someone so weak-looking protect the heir of the Akashi?' 'Or what good will his lack of presence do in case he was actually required to take action?' 'It's only good for running away!'

It was, indeed, a part of Kuroko's plan to let them think that way.

What he was after for was Midorima Shintaro's conclusion and Aomine Daiki's attention.

Midorima was pretty much self-explanatory, given how he had managed to not break into cold sweat during their conversation. He knew that his actions would confuse Midorima, therefore forcing him to look into his actions with more attention than needed. To be honest, Kuroko wasn't aiming for Midorima's attention to be divided, but rather, he was waiting for Midorima to realize what he was trying to say without the others noticing at all. Even though Aomine, Kise and Murasakibara had been there as backups of this entire 'test' matter, the real 'examiner' was Midorima. Their opinions wouldn't matter, unless Midorima says otherwise.

In short, as soon as Midorima notices and realizes that something is definitely amiss, he would confront Kuroko's client and report as told. When that is done, both will look into the matter more carefully, and soon, they will be reaching what Kuroko was aiming for them to know.

In contrast to Midorima, however, Aomine didn't particularly have the same type of intellectual capability as Midorima for Kuroko's plan to take it's coarse as nicely as it would have had the person we were talking about been the green-haired teen. Kuroko knew that Aomine would've been too foolish to understand what Kuroko was trying to do, or he would've fallen too easily to the temptation of smashing Kuroko's face in (because really, it wasn't a surprise considering the hateful stare he was directing at Kuroko at this very moment). In fact, had he been the one who accompanied Kuroko for the test, the situation could have ended with Aomine nearly dying, or Kuroko simply quitting.

But that was _**if**_ Kuroko planned to do the same thing he plans on doing to Midorima to Aomine.

To explain himself, Kuroko acknowledged that though the tanned teen didn't appear to be the brightest out of the entire group, Kuroko had a feeling that with his rather animalistic and fiery personality, such a person must have sharp and reliable instincts. Of course, he had half a mind to actually go after a second person, knowing that Midorima should be enough, but he then came into a conclusion that there must be a pushing factor for things to move accordingly.

And this pushing factor was 'Aomine Daiki'.

Seeing the way how the other easily gave in to his emotions during the little stunt that Kuroko pulled, the blue-haired teen immediately knew that the tanned teen was the perfect person to be used in order to push his plan into motion. He also assumed that with someone as strong as Aomine, years of fighting will enable him to sense or sniff out Kuroko's real potential.

And when that happens, Aomine will then be obligated to use that incident in the street basketball court as a reason to prove his supposed assumption.

_'There was no way someone like him could have escaped three people's watch. Murasakibara, Kise and I had undergone harsh training in order to ensure that when situations like these occur, we can successfully manage to capture the enemy. However, it wasn't like that with him; he had managed to successfully slip out of our watch! That's impossible!'_

And as soon as Aomine emphasizes his point, Kise and Murasakibara will surely follow and support Aomine's reasoning since there was no other way to prove that the blue-haired teen was wrong.

Combine the outcomes of both situations together (both Midorima's and Aomine's) and soon, the entire Akashi and those who will be involved with him in the future will be weary and cautious of him.

Now, the real question was…

What was Kuroko exactly trying to achieve by letting them keep their distance?

Simple; it was all to protect the heir of the Akashi; Akashi Seijūrō.

The head of the Akashi has made the contract with him and is currently paying him as their deal had stated, but his job was to protect the heir; be it from his own family or his friends, it didn't really matter. All he knew for sure was that he wouldn't dare to do anything dirty or something that would reek of betrayal especially when he was under a contract. His only obligation and duty, after all, is to do this job sincerely and effectively as a Kuroko.

"We're here." He heard Kise enthusiastically call from the driver's seat, obviously happy that they have finally reached their destination without anyone being murdered along the way.

Midorima was the second to leave the car right after Kise, before Murasakibara followed suit. Kuroko left the car afterwards with Aomine tailing him from behind.

With an uncaring look on his face, Kuroko let his eyes roam over the large infrastructure standing no less than 25 times his size.

_'So this is the Akashi Manor.'_


	6. Oops?

- Six

This place's ambience reminded the blue-haired teen of the Kuroko mansion where every servant was properly trained in order to effectively do and perform their respective duties with efficiency and grace so as not to bring shame to the name of their masters. The place itself resembled the mansion with its grandeur chandeliers and classy furniture which undoubtedly cost more than thrice an ordinary man's salary, along with those pricey paintings and art sculptures which did nothing but serve to establish the current standing of the family.

"You don't seem to be surprised, Kurokocchi!" Glancing at the corner of his eye to see the blond-haired teen brightly grinning at him, Kuroko couldn't help but notice two other things as he thought of a reply. The first one being the surprise evident on Aomine and Murasakibara's faces and the other being Kise's unusually sincere curiosity. "Are you familiar with these types of things?"

_Did Kise-kun say anything unusual? _

Judging by how quiet Midorima was, Kise was doing what seemed to be the right thing by casually starting up a conversation, whether he had intended it or not.

"If you're the type of person to infiltrate mansions for your job, sceneries like this wouldn't surprise you at all."

…

The silence was very, very unsettling.

Murasakibara looked down at Kuroko with intensity clearly burning within his eyes, hand reaching out to grip Kuroko's entire head. With Murasakibara's physique it wasn't all that impossible to do so- hell, it was probably possible to tear the entire blue-haired teen's head off his body.

"Mind the way you speak, Kurochin," the giant muttered as he watched the young teen impassively stare back at him. "You're still in our territory."

"I'm fully aware, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko coolly replied in return.

The question was at the tip of Aomine's tongue when Midorima spoke.

"Lying to us would have been a bad decision and he is aware of it, thus he answered truthfully," he explained. "Though to be frank, his response had been less than pleasing."

Clicking his tongue, the purple-haired giant slowly took a step back. He might have let it go for now, but judging by the way how he stared at Kuroko. he intends to search for the next opportunity to pounce.

Midorima uneasily glanced at Aomine who was glaring at Kuroko then back at Murasakibara who silently followed after Kise instead. '_Everyone is completely disoriented with just his presence...'__  
><em>

"Anyway, Akashi-san will be meeting you at 6:00," Kise nervously said as he stared at his wristwatch which displayed the current time. "You have an hour at most to familiarize yourself with the mansion; also try to avoid any confrontations with... Akashicchi."

Kuroko silently nodded.

Midorima, along with the other three, were about to head towards wherever they are designated to be when the bespectacled teenager turned to give him a warning glare from the corner of his eye.

"Don't do anything stupid now, Kuroko Tetsuya."

**OoOoOoO**

There were three floors, the first in which he was last seen by the four teenagers. It consisted of the living room and a gigantic kitchen, along with an enormous dining room. Kuroko suspected that the first floor was the place where they receive and entertain guests, most probably for formal family meetings or business meetings.

The second floor, on the other hand, was a tad bit informal, seeing as to how the rooms were mostly compromised of something that interests the members of the Akashi family. A library, a mini-bar, an office, guest rooms, a balcony, another living room, a smaller kitchen, a room stacked with collections of various things, another room containing outfits for women which Kuroko assumed to be for the female members of the Akashi family and finally, the rooms where the staffs and workers of the Akashi reside.

He had thought of making another turn to explore the third floor next when Kuroko found himself staring at the grand staircase.

Well, not _exactly_ the staircase itself but rather…

…the _person_ who stood on the staircase.

It was Akashi Seijūrō; the heir of the Akashi.

_The person who he has to protect._

"And who might you be?"


End file.
